Terms of Endearment
by Last Fading Smile
Summary: Shepard and Alenko try on some new names. Silly little piece that started out fluffy and took a turn for the sexy because KAIDAN DAMN IT. Erring on the side of caution on the rating.


He entered the cabin without knocking, with the casual ease of someone perfectly at home and always welcome. It was a good feeling, and a far cry from the early days of sneaking around, secret trysts, lame excuses and near-misses. Exciting, surely, but the older he got, the more insane the world around him became, the more he valued the relative effortlessness and stability of his relationship with Shepard. _Relationship_; it had a certain ring to it, of something official, something real. They were in a great place. Things had finally clicked, and he couldn't be more happy.

He found her sitting on the lounge. Dressed in her hooded sweatshirt and light fatigues, boots off and a half empty bottle of wine, she was the picture of comfort. She had been running herself ragged and could use the rest, but she had been taking more time for herself lately, which he liked to think it was an artifact of his influence. All the same, he watched the toes waggling wildly at the end of her bare feet up on the coffee table. She just couldn't sit still, not entirely, he thought with some amusement. Even in bed, some part of her would fidget until she fell asleep. She looked up and smiled at his approach.

"Hey, sweetheart. What are you up to?" He slid onto the couch beside her, arm about her shoulders.

She motioned towards the stack of datapads strewn across the table. "Nothing much. Just going over some Crucible progress reports that Hac—" Her brow furrowed as her voice trailed off, and she stared at him quizzically. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"Uh…I asked what you were doing…"

"No, the other thing. _What_ did you call me?" she pushed, unable to suppress the sadistic smirk that began to form at the corners of her mouth.

"I…uh… Shepard?"

"Nooooo, that's not what you said, Alenko!"

Kaidan laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, which suddenly felt warmer than it ought. "…Sweetheart," he confessed quietly, with a bashful waggle of his eyebrows.

The smirk grew into an outright grin.

"Would you prefer something else?" he asked, blushing like an idiot. She had this annoying –though endearing – way of making him feel like he was his naïve fourteen-year-old self again, all thumbs and bumbling tongue. Though it was probably best to avoid thinking about tongues in too much detail while in such tempting accommodations.

"I have a name, you know?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I know, I guess…I don't know. I wanted to try out something a little more intimate than 'Shepard'."

"A first name, you goof. You, Kaidan." She pointed at him, and then thumbed her own chest. "Me, Riley."

Kaidan chuckled and shook his head. "No; you, killjoy."

Shepard feigned sympathy as she put aside her work and slung her leg across his lap, pulling herself up and settling into a teasing straddle. Dramatic pout, hand placed insincerely over her heart, she looked down at him with hangdog eyes. "Oh, Kaidan. I'm so sorry…darling."

Alenko slung his arms around those alluring hips, hands holding the soft curve of her back. "It's okay…babe."

"Thanks for being so understanding…honey."

"Of course. Sweetie."

"Snugglebear."

"Buttercup."

"Manmuffin."

"Cuppycake."

"Studley-do-right."

He laughed out loud. "Studley-do-right? Nice one, lovekitten."

"Just so you know, I'm claiming that laugh as a victory. But I really need to get back to these reports, snickerdoodle. Hackett's expecting my input." Shepard started to push away, but found the arms about her waist holding her firmly.

"Yeah, uh, with all due respect to the Admiral, he can wait, sugarbutt." He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Sugarbutt. That's the one." His hands slipped downward, as if to emphasise his approval. He held her there with one strong hand, the other reaching up to slowly unzip the sweater.

"Alenko…" His name, a firm warning.

"Shepard." He slid the sweater off one shoulder, placing a delicate kiss on the warm, exposed skin.

"Kaidan…" she whispered, another caution, but with weakening conviction.

"Sugarbutt," he growled, intrepid lips charting an exploratory path over the ridge of her collar bone, through the valley of her neck and across to the other side, the sweater slipping completely off to hang at her back. She quivered, skin breaking out in tiny goose bumps that only incited him.

"I hate you."

He grinned and stood, gripping her tightly, relishing her surprised squeal and the way her thighs tightened around his waist, and carried her to the bed.

And he couldn't be more happy.


End file.
